The Earthquakes kick off their 2014 MLS campaign on Saturday with a home game against Real Salt Lake, losing finalists in last year's MLS Cup. Quakes fans hope striker Chris Wondolowski returns to the trail of prolific goal scoring.

Wondo works in mysterious ways. Follow his uncanny sense of being in the right place at the right time. Or the decisive way he slots goals home.

He works best when his movement connects to the forward flow of the team; less so when he's forced back to slog in midfield, helping out. Last season, when the Quakes missed out on the playoffs, Wondo's goal tally went from a record-equaling 27 in 2012 to 11. To thrive, Wondo needs space creators around him. The task is to find the players who can supply him the ball.

Coach Mark Watson sets the team's tactical trajectory. Buoyant consistent form will push the Quakes to the playoffs. Fueling the drive, offseason signings including Corsican Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi - an import from French football playing in midfield. The Quakes created a buzz this week by securing the services of Yannick Djalo, on loan from Portugal's Sporting Lisbon. Skill, speed, and imagination are stamped on his passport.

Watson's task is to blend the new with the established. If memory serves, last season the Quakes offense relied frequently on the long ball into the penalty box. That's somewhat inevitable with muscle forwards like Steven Lenhartand Alan Gordonthe targets. But such a style of attack doesn't foster control of the ball. Everyone knows that keeping possession is the signature that marks more wins than losses, to paraphrase Dutch master JohanCruyff's saying, "If we have the ball, you can't score." A creative midfield carving space coupled with fast ground play is richer gravy for success and for Wondo. Step up newbies. Supply the man.

This is the Quakes' final year playing at Buck Shaw Stadium at Santa Clara University. A mile away, passengers landing at San Jose International get a bird's-eye view of the construction project that is the Quakes' future home. The new stadium's turnstiles will begin clicking in 2015.

Stadium building is the nest Major League Soccer understood to be the cornerstone of the project to build soccer in America. Home is everything in sports. Attachment sticks by playing on your own turf. For too long U.S. soccer was like a tawdry lodger in the homes of the other football. The landlord and the renter - it's not a secure foundation in sports and you don't get to paint the design you wish. The decoration of gridiron field marks over soccer lines was pathetic.

The new Quakes ground will deliver atmosphere. The design will amplify it. And there will be a fresh buzz around pro soccer in the Bay Area. One gets the feeling that the Quakes are set to tap into something big. Passengers on landing jets will get an eyeful of the crowd erupting as Wondo cracks home another goal - dreams of tomorrow. But for now, Buck Shaw gets one last hurrah. The team will wish to say farewell on a high to their more humble abode.